What name is given to Japan's late-1980s boom and early-1990s collapse in land and stock prices?

Japan's late-1980s boom and early-1990s collapse in land and stock prices is known as the Japanese asset price bubble. Easy credit, rising expectations, and speculative buying pushed Japanese asset values to extraordinary levels.

The Nikkei 225 reached an intraday high of 38,957.44 on December 29, 1989. Commercial land prices in major Japanese cities also surged, reinforcing the belief that values would continue rising.

The bubble burst after the Bank of Japan tightened monetary policy and interest rates rose. Stock and property prices then fell for years, damaging banks, businesses, and household balance sheets.

The resulting period is often called Japan's Lost Decade, although economic weakness extended beyond the 1990s. The episode is not simply a stock-market crash: the property collapse and banking crisis were equally important parts of the story.